Hawaii Bowl Odds for Fans Gambling on College Football

When it comes to gambling on college football on a bowl game, you just don’t take the Fresno State Bulldogs. They have gone 0-6 SU and ATS in their last six such games. Accordingly, the Houston Cougars are 2½-point favorites in the 2017 Hawaii Bowl. Should Fresno State upset Houston, it would be not just their first bowl win since 2007, but also their 10th win of the season. ““That 10th win means a lot, just to show people that you can bring someone in and bring back a culture of a school,” cornerback Tank Kelly said. “It doesn’t take one person to bring it back, but when you do bring the right person in and they show they care for you and it’s a family bond it can make something special happen, so we want to make something special happen for this program.”

The 2017 Hawaii Bowl

Fresno State is an under machine

The Bulldogs are a defensive behemoth, holding the opposition to 17.2 points per game this year. That’s almost half as many points per game as they allowed last season, when they went 1-11 (0-8 in conference play). “We need football to be successful to help us drive all of our sports to have success,” interim athletic director Steve Robertello said. “It helps from a budget standpoint, ticket sales … we need people in Bulldog Stadium and a big part of that is making sure we have the program that we need and providing coach with the resources and the things he needs to be successful.” They’re definitely on the right track.

With Fresno State’s 16-ranked defense, people gambling on college football are not surprised that the total has gone under in the Bulldogs’ last nine straight games. Additionally, Fresno State is 9-1-1 ATS in its last 11 games following an ATS win.

Houston’s run defense could help cover the tiny spread

Defensive tackle Ed Oliver epitomizes the Cougars’ defense, which ranks 47th in the country against the rush. Oliver has had 69 tackles, 14½ tackles for loss, 5½ sacks, seven quarterback hurries and two forced fumble. And that’s playing through a knee injury and facing constant double- and triple-team blocks. On the other end of the ball, Houston was slow to get the offense going, which only occurred when D’Eriq King became the starting QB in late October. The Cougars have gone 3-1 with King under center. He has seven rushing TDs in that same period.

The Cougars are 12-4 ATS in their last 16 non-conference games and 8-3 ATS in their last 11 neutral site games. People gambling on college football who will put their money on Houston covering better hope the Cougars defense won’t have another day to forget, like when they allowed 80 points and 624 yards in the second half of back-to-back games against Tulsa and Memphis.